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Future Watch 2024
Our annual Future Watch edition is now 116 pages packed with info examining the prospect pipeline for each NHL club and counting down the top 100 prospects in the game. In our NHL Team Reports, you'll find scouting reports for the top 10 prospects for each organization. In addition, we take an in-depth look at two teams with the best systems: the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings. And we also have features on several of the game's best youngsters, including Matvei Michkov, Will Smith, Liam Ohgren and Adam Gajan.
ARIZONA COYOTES
A 19-14-2 START GAVE promise that things were finally turning around for the long-suffering Coyotes, but it turned out to be another desert mirage, and they went into the all-star break in line for a top-10 pick. Again. “People get almost too excited about our team when they watch us play,” said Arizona GM Bill Armstrong. “There’s a lot of good watching the big club, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.” The Coyotes have 20 picks in the first three rounds of the next three drafts. You wonder what they’ll do with all these young players, but it’s not a terrible problem to have. A– | RANK: 2ND 1. DMITRIY SIMASHEV OVERALL 19 D, 19, 6-4, 201 Yaroslavl (KHL) 60–4–6–10–18 2023 draft, 6th overall It was a battle for Simashev to crack the lineup…
CALGARY FLAMES
IT’S INCREDIBLE HOW DIFFERENT a prospect pool that is essentially the same as last year can look. Significant changes at the top altered the outlook as new Flames GM Craig Conroy promised to give his young players a chance. And they’ve taken advantage. Martin Pospisil and Connor Zary have already graduated and are thriving this season as secondary scorers and adrenaline providers. Others are pushing for jobs, and the pool is getting deeper with the moves Conroy has made. Once a weakness, the Flames’ prospects look like a real strength now, especially the top five. C+ | RANK: 20TH 1. MATT CORONATO OVERALL 18 RW, 21, 5-10, 195 Calgary (AHL) 35–14–23–37–19 2021 draft, 13th overall Coronato made the NHL roster out of camp and had a goal and two points in his first four games, but he struggled…
BABY BLUES
FOR MOST NHL GMs, the World Junior Championship provides an opportunity to get in a quick scouting trip at a relatively soft time in the schedule. So, they tend to come in like a visiting potentate for a few days, watch a couple of their prospects, shake some hands and kiss some babies, then beat a hasty retreat to allow their scouting staff to do the boots-on-the-ground heavy lifting. But not St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, who spent enough time in Sweden in late 2023 and early 2024 to apply for landed immigrant status. “I got there early,” Armstrong said, “and I stayed there late.” There’s a really good reason why Armstrong, who is in his 30th season of having an executive parking spot with an NHL hockey-operations department, approached…
NEW YORK RANGERS
DURING THE RANGERS’ DAZZLING start to 2023-24, the only player from last year’s Future Watch top 10 contributing regularly for the team was left winger Will Cuylle. GM Chris Drury and coach Peter Laviolette opted for depth with experience in the summer, so D-man Zac Jones and left winger Brennan Othmann played sparingly. Injuries stalled the run, and January saw shaky goaltending, blown leads, and scoring droughts. Still, two impressive forward prospects, Gabe Perreault and Othmann, are clearly alone in the Rangers’ top tier. Othmann is closer to NHL duty. C+ | RANK: 24TH 1. GABE PERREAULT OVERALL 12 RW, 18, 5-11, 165 Boston College (HE) 29–14–34–48–12 2023 draft, 23rd overall Perreault is the top offensive force among Blueshirt prospects. His father also came in at 5-foot-11, but Yanic was 185 pounds when he played 14 NHL seasons.…
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